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A TRACT FOR THE TIMES 
 
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 THE SITUATION. 
 
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 ,11 r 
 
 TROUBLP:s that afflict the just in Canada are mt .nly 
 industrial difficulties. Not only is material wealth 
 a necessity to the very existence of society, but a fair 
 distribution of it is as important to the contentment, peace and 
 prosperity of the people. All wealth is the result of skilful 
 labor, yet the active workers seldom inherit a fair share of the 
 profits of industry, but are doomed to suffer the privations inci- 
 dent to poverty, while a class, not always capitalists, but, it may 
 be, having the reputation only, enjoy but too largely of the profits 
 of every enterprise. The active portion of society want a fair 
 field in which to employ their time and talents, and they want 
 also some degree of certainty that they shall get what they 
 labor for; but that is not to Ije had where bu less is defective 
 at the very foundation and afloat upon a tt.xipestuous sea of 
 credit. Canadians have written up credit till it is believed there 
 is no other capital, and the creatures of credit are emboldened to 
 claim the first consideration, while the individuals and institutions 
 possessing the real arti(de are relegated to a back seat. 
 
 Our best securities, instead of being allowed to bear a share 
 of the circulation, are put to the unprofitable use of paying 
 excessive importations of foreign goods. Instead of borrowing on 
 your securities you have but to get the certificate of a commercial 
 agency and you may rely on having all the discounts you require. 
 The revolutions that have disturbed society in the past have 
 
 J 
 
usually had theii- origin in the uufHl;- distribution of wealth, and 
 the active eniplovees wei-e generally the sufferers. Business men 
 are in the same boat with the strug^.ling masses. They find it 
 all but impossible to make ends meet, while money-lenders are 
 perioi|[f;ally declaring for themselvi^s handsome dividends. Com- 
 petition necessitates that the shelves and counters of merchants 
 be loaded with enormous stocks of goods which cannot lie sold for 
 cash, nor can outstanding debts be collocated in consequence of a 
 chronic scarcity of circulation; hence maturing pjiper has 
 generally eithei* to be renewed or dishonored. 
 
 Every honest merchant dreads failure as he d(ws the plague 
 or la grippe, and the dense weekly columns of bankruptcies 
 looming up like the Napoleon Guards at Waterloo fill him with 
 distrust and fearful forebodings, although the frequency of 
 suspensions helps to take aw;iiy the disgrace in proportion as 
 bankruptcy becomes the rule instead of the exception. 
 
 Nor is it strange that the fa'-ming class, who in a new country 
 are the backbone of, the industries, should, from causes aflt'ecting 
 the pocket, be disposed to clutch at such straws as '' unrestri<;ted 
 union and (company" for relief. The schoolmaster is abroad 
 these days giving object lessons to the farmers and their wives 
 on American fi-ee trade, that is, <^ to sell in the dearest market 
 and also to buv in the dearest " — a sort of bastard free trade and 
 very different from that of the bold Britain which is, <'sell in the 
 dearest and buy in the cheapest markets." One does not require 
 to follow Mr. Wiman through a hundred columns of closely 
 printed matter to settle the question of reciprocity which is in a 
 nutshell. If Canada cannot have fair reciprocity of trade by 
 treatv on the old lines with the United States, there is no 
 Canadian statesman soft enough to barter away our present 
 position for anything of less value that our kind neighbors have 
 to offer. Canada can always have the American market to sell 
 in, and as our present products bring p the cash it can be laid 
 out again in markets so much superior as to recoup the seller's 
 
8 
 
 sh'U'c of the Americrin duties. Hut ij?is not so very certiiin that 
 tlie Unite:l Stitesciin do without the raw products of this country, 
 in th'it CHS'J the buyer pays the duty. It is very remarkable 
 th'it tl>e greatest poi'tion of American imports of goods is from 
 Britain, and yet we never .hear of its manufacturers complaining 
 of having to pay the duties -perhaps they are too busy to notice 
 it. The Oinadlsn st itesnien who would cut us ott' from the liest 
 mai'kets of the world and force the farmers to buy goods which 
 our neighbors cannot soil elsewhere would be very sharply called 
 to account for the misdemeanor. It is clearly not the mission of 
 Americans to teach the world anything better than a (trooked 
 free trade. If, hs it is siid, Mr. Wimaii be really Ji native, he is 
 certainly not playing a very dignified role as the tool of American 
 politicians, and I question that by stumping the Dominion he 
 could scare up a coi'pcral's guard of "suppliants" to suit his 
 purposes. 
 
 As to the pretence that American niarkets are so convenient 
 it does not go for much these days of speedy transit— twelve days 
 from .Japan and six days from P^ui-ope, and much less after the 
 Quebec and Straits of Belleisle Rtiilway is completed. Canada 
 is on the highway between the two hemispheres, with the United 
 States in her arms and just in the way of other nations. With 
 fleets, harbors, railways and canals as good as any, and wheat 
 fields, forests and waterfalls the best in the world, who shall say 
 that she has not the key to all markets ? As an example of 
 what our neighbors can do in creating a market for us to bu ' in 
 take their handling of their leading staple, cotton. The past 
 s3ason's crop is valued at JioO million dollars, yet the export 
 portion is estimated to be twice as valuable as that of wheat, 
 provisions and cattle, or six times the value of the corn export;. 
 In 1880 their cotton was four-fifths of the world's crop, yet they 
 only made use of one-sixth of it. The balance went to Liverpool 
 for the cash, to be manufactured for American people with the 
 I'est, and the increasing markets are next door to tlie United 
 
Stiitns, wliicli in 1HH6 took 4;")^ million yards; Mexico, :VJ\ 
 million; (Central America, :i7i : V^enezeula, 2.'iJ ; Brazil, 241 : 
 Uruguay, 'Aii'i; li. N. America, ii^i; West Indies, 42^; Argentine 
 Republic, 104^; (liili, oO^ ; Peru, ;Wi. The United States 
 exports about )ii:M>0(),()()0 and Great Britain 2r)0 to :MM) million 
 dollars worth of cotton annually. Some Canadian \voollen mill* 
 even se'l theii* product in the United States in spite of the tariff. 
 The All.' ricans and others have yet to learn that high tariff's mean 
 bad bargains, while British free trade means cheap supplies. But 
 what should Canada or the United States either want from any 
 other country but fair trade relations V They are only stupid 
 that expect or want any other advantage. 
 
 . Oreat Britain is destined by her overpowering industries., 
 bicked up by the Old Lady of Threadnoedle Street, to break 
 down all trade barriers between herself and other nations. She 
 is just now demoralizing the industries of Canada and the United 
 States by foi'cing her goods on their markets and cai'rying off the 
 cash capital. When the empire has fulfilled her niission of 
 compelling the nations to accept her- humane principles of free 
 tree trade what happens? It follows that nine-tenths of all 
 causes of quarrel between nations will disappear, and IxjUigerent 
 navies will rot for lack of action, and the armies will largely be 
 disbanded and re-enlisted in the peaceful ranks of pro<lu(^er8 : 
 for what really does one nation want of another than to have fair 
 trade relations ? After international free trade is ettected 
 domestic differences may occur, but I cannot imagine what 
 interest one foreign nation should have to interfere with another. 
 It has been industriously noissd abroad as proof of the great 
 prosperity of our neighbors, their having paid off a large portion 
 of their national debt, and that their tr"5asury is overflowing with 
 money, a new phenomenon in the history of nations. These 
 extravagant claims require some explnnation. 
 
 They i 11 us their railroad system cost some 8,000 million 
 dollars. That is double the national debt of the empire and 
 
5 
 
 lHrj?<?ly hoirowod in P^urope. How niiich of tluit debt lias been 
 puidV jind what merit is tliero in sliiftin^ tlio national dobt on to 
 the shoulders of the eoniniereial fonngn debt, for that was actually 
 
 . done? The money borrowed to build railways went partly to 
 pay oflf the national bonds, but it is sfill owing abroad. And as 
 to the overflowing- treasury ! I think it will be found that by the" 
 hite Funding Act, the United States tr(visury was made resjxnisible 
 for the redempti(m of the National IVmk issue some l.JUM) million 
 dollars, and if there be in the treasury ;'>(> cents to the dollar to 
 pay with, what is that to boast of V 
 
 It would be unpardonable statesmanship to have a surplus on 
 
 _any other tei-nis Ixjyond the interest falling due, for it would only 
 Ije taxing the energies of the consuming working population 
 unnecess'irily. But even the liritish syndicates that have under- 
 taken to ruiL their mills, elevators, breweries and finances 
 generally is made a matter of boasting by our happy-go-lucky 
 orator, who promises, also, that if Canada will but accept of 
 Oommercial Union, the Americans will bring in their capital and 
 develop Caiiadiart minerals ! Now, it is a notorious fact that the 
 mines of their own country are worked chiefly by British capital. 
 When have these people ever had any capital they did not 
 borrow ? • 
 
 That country has three different standards of value: the legal 
 tender of paper, the silver standard and, of course, the gold 
 standard, and vet with all that thev never understocxl finance 
 enough to give their sixty millions of people an adequate currency 
 to enable their industries to compete with those of other nations 
 IX OPEN MAKKETS. It is a noteworthy fact that, possessing 
 unrivalled advantages in territoi-y, they never had the science 
 of handling their capital independently of aid from other 
 countries. Yet they must be credited with occasional fits of 
 generosity, as the building of a canal through the upper lakes for 
 Canadians before supplying their own people with like facilities; 
 but that good thing is neutralized by the sparing magnanimity of 
 
(> 
 
 overtaxing their biisinos« pooploof Detroit who try to economize 
 by living in Windsor! 
 
 Thoir (■/ti/-ffa'U7>rr in st'it.^srn inship is a high t!i rift* to giind 
 down their working people, which will neither keep foreign 
 manufactures out nor keep in the capital. Their lx»st men l)egin 
 to leai'n that high taritt's not only create monopolies hut also a 
 high-pi-i(;cd market for the sale of the surplus stocks of foreign 
 manufacturers, which drain off the cash c:ipital in payment, a 
 state of things which is gradually tending to industrial revolution 
 in that countj-y. The masses perceive that cheap supplies are 
 equally essential with nominal high wages for their -comfort, and 
 they buy the foreign article in preference to their own moke. 
 
 The following from an American piper indicates how monopo- 
 lies draw the cords of necessity around the working classes^ 
 caused by mal-legislation in so shout a peuiod : 
 
 Who Own tuk Un'iteo States ?— The aggregate, in fact, of everything of any 
 value composes the wealtli of a nati<»n. Now, a statistician of this city has been 
 making some rather staggering calculations. He finds that 25,000 persons own one- 
 half of the entire wealth of tlie United States, and that the whole wealth in practically 
 owned by 250,000 persons — or only one in 60 of the adult male population. Seventy 
 persons he names own no less that ^2,700,000,000, an average of over $37,600,000 
 each. Fifty ethers own ovei ;jllO,000,000 rach. He states that ho could Mume ten 
 persons whose M'ealth averages $100,000,000 each, and that a list of 100 owning 
 $25,(X)0,000 could easily be made up. He predicts that in the course of thirty years 
 50,000 persons will practically own all the wealth of this country. Though such 
 statistics are not to be entirely trusted, still they are sufficiently accurate to dispel 
 the popular notion that wealth is much more evenly distributed in this country than 
 in Britain. 
 
 In times past the navies of England were employed in demol- 
 ishing the armed neutralities of Europe combined against her. 
 To-day they are employed in the peaceful and benevolent mis.si(>u 
 of supplying the markets of the world with cheaper and more 
 substantial goods than can be had elsewhere. Just imagine 
 39,23."> noble ships and steamers, manned by 200,()0t) sailors, 
 having 9,.31 4,496 tonnage, doing eighty per cent, of the carrying 
 trade of the world ! 
 
When (irivit Britain prcKihiinied her ports fi*ee the iiierchnnt- 
 inen of all nations cTowded her hrtrl)or8 for tlie purposes of trade. 
 To the question what is thoro to pay, the invariable answer was 
 nothing— nothing hut wharfage. John Bull simply warned his 
 new-made friends not to overdo a good thing or it w^ould injure 
 themselves. That touch of liberality, so different to the dog-in- 
 the-mang(»r reception of high tariff i-epublioans, made the whole 
 world of tnidera kin to her merchants and nianufactui-ers, as 
 nothing is so provocative of fiiendly feeling as the magic of good 
 bargains and square dealing. The mercantile relations of ^hese 
 little islands " rising out of the azure main " instantly expanded 
 world wide, and it would be vain to set limits to the intiuence of 
 principles that are every day l)ecoming more popular with the 
 masses. That same stroke of lil)erality has kept the shipyards 
 busily employed ever since supplying fleets to other nations. 
 
 When Rol>ert Clive was writing at the desk of the East India 
 (company's office, Madras, the British nation counted but twelve 
 million inhabitants. That was only sixteen years before American 
 independence. In the brief period of V\0 years has sprung up 
 the phenomenal greatness of that empire which now overshadows 
 the habitable globe, embracing in its folds races, nations and 
 territories, ancient and modern, bai'barous as well as enlightened 
 peoples. At the Durbar hela by Sir John Lawrence, a hundred 
 Indian Rulers and Princes, with their Oriental trains, graced his 
 parlors. That single dependency of the British Crown is said 
 to possess a greater number of men able to bear arms than 
 all the inhabitants of Rome numbered in her palmiest days, 
 or 120 millions! The empire now has at least ^lo million 
 inhabitants, covering an area of nine million square miles, and 
 no nation can make any important move "vithout affecting her 
 interests ; and I may here say that a humble Canadian enjoys 
 the same politic-al rights as a citizen of London. The banking 
 and insurance business of the world is done by this people, a 
 single British agency since the Chicago fire does more business 
 than any fire company in the United States. 
 
 J 
 
/ 
 
 8 
 
 Talk of the republican institutions of our neighbors and let 
 them be judged of by their Senate throwing out the Fishery 
 Act after having been signed and sealed, regardless of distress- 
 ing her large community of fishermen on her eastern coast. 
 Such a proceeding could never have happened in the Imperial 
 legislature. 
 
 Long before the United States were thought of, and a century 
 even before the French Revolution, a peaceful change took 
 place in liberty-loving England which is the acknowledged 
 origin of all the constitutional freedom of the modern world. In 
 the reign of William the Third the advisors of the Sovereign, 
 who had hitherto been always responsible to tlie Crown, were 
 now Aiade answerable to the people henceforth for the advice 
 given, and which had to be taken by the ruler in due course. 
 That simple change at once made the House of Commons 
 supreme in the state— placed the Sovereign for ever under the 
 law and deprived the House of Lords of political iK)wer. 
 Premiers have since then so frequently forced measures through 
 the Lords, which they tried to obstruct, that they have learned 
 to regard prudence as the better part of valor and now quietly 
 let the Commons have its own way. During that remarkable 
 reign some half-dozen acts were placed on the statute books, 
 whicn for wisdom, justice and administrative abilit^'^ are un- 
 paralleled in the history of civilization, and stand as a high 
 water mark for the guidance of the human race. The order 
 now is that Her Most Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria, at the 
 head of this great r(^public of nations, governs their world-wide 
 interests by a majority of the House of Commons. 
 
 The framers of the American constitution seem to have 
 thought that they must have a house similar to the Lords in 
 England, not being aware that a hundred years before that the 
 House of Lords became no longer the second estate of the realm. 
 
 The good advice given by Gladstone to the youth of England 
 may safely be taken by Canadians : To study the history of 
 
9 
 
 their own country and learn that every stepping-stone . in the 
 progress of the empire has been laid with wisdom. 
 
 The reader will excuse dwelling upon these plain matters of 
 history. We shall now proceed to consider one of the important 
 acts just referred to— the charter for 
 
 The Bank of En(jlani). 
 
 a 
 
 That institution was at first much like our Canadian banks. 
 It discounted commercial paper, and, not being required to hold 
 reserves to secure depositors, it came to grief several times 
 because credit assets could not pay debts on demand ; hence 
 distress and ruin followed. , But that wise statesmen, Sir Robert 
 Peel, saw the point and determined upon placing depositors upon 
 the same secure footing as the holders of circulation. The Bank 
 Act of 1844 has two important provisions: First, it requires that 
 the issue covered by the government debt to the bank, about 
 fifteen million pounds sterling, shall be invested in the three per 
 cent, securities ; and second, that every pound note issued above 
 that sum be represented by a sovereign or gold iii the vaults, 
 leaving the discount capacity limited by the reserve of notes. 
 The circulation as compared with capital is : 
 
 Paid-up capital, - >' i:l4,r)r)3,000 sterling- 
 Circulation, - - -! 24,036,000 •• ^tv 
 The debts compared with reserves are : 
 
 Circulation, - - - £24,r>.SO,000 sterling 
 . Deposits, - - - a:U''>3,000 
 
 Reserves, Government securities, - £32,159,948 stg. 
 Bullion, - - - - 22,301,289 
 
 Canadj^n Banks. 
 
 Paid up capital, .... 
 Debts— (Circulation, 
 
 Deposits, - - - 
 
 ^60,000,000 
 
 32,000,000 
 
 120,000,000 
 
f 
 
 The circulation here falls short of the paid-up capital 
 $28,000,000. 
 
 The banks secure note holders by a fii"st claim on the assets 
 of four times the value usually, while the claim of depositors 
 is equal to a second mortgage plus the hypothetical security 
 of the double liability. 
 
 As the Bank of England has ample reserves its assets may 
 be fairly valued, and as it dominates the trade, the assets of 
 merchants are likewise upon a capital basis. Hence, British 
 trade is on the soundest footing, and the rate of interest since 
 1 844 has fallen to half rates, or say an average of from one to 
 four per c^nt. per annum. 
 
 The manufacturers of that country were, by the change 
 in the constitution of the bank, given an equivalent of cheap 
 capital for the removal of the tariff, and their goods being made 
 under the keenest competition, take the lead in all markets. 
 / The only wny that Canada may hope to improve her 
 industries is by talking such steps as will prevent the exportation 
 of the cash capital. Tt is not for the vain purpose of hoarding; 
 but capitiil is a tool which is misused by exporting it, being 
 already too scarce. It should be saved that debts may be 
 promptly paid— that assets and the value of all property may be 
 fairly ascertained, and to furiiisL capital at a low rate of 
 interest to the industries— a better protection than any tariff 
 can afford. The solidity of the Bank of England is an assurance 
 that all tariffs are destined to give way to the liberal principle 
 of <'sell in the dearest, and buy in the cheapest markets." v' 
 Shakespeare sings in the ears of his countrymen: 
 
 "There is no fortress, tower nor town 
 The golden bullet will not beat down." 
 
 The Canadian Banking Law. 
 
 The Bank of Issue I^w was established for the purpose of 
 discounting promissory notes made on the sale of importations. 
 
 
n 
 
 That has always been considered fii*st-class business by bankers. 
 The notes so issued served as a currency for the transaction of 
 business which was all very well, but it stimulated importtitions 
 to an unhealthy degree, because the moment the goods were 
 sold and the bill closed by note, the importer was sure of getting 
 the money for them. But when the exports of pi'oducc failed 
 to furnish the exchange to pay for the excess, foreign acceptances 
 had to be met by whatever specie the banks had to spare. The 
 circulation returning from the retailers was of course paid in to 
 the banks by importers for the purchase of exchange and that 
 put the notes out of circulation. In this manner the currency 
 was always reduced by redemption to a degree that made it 
 impossible to transact business except on credit. This explains 
 the usual complaint of bankers that they cannot keep out the 
 circulation, -v'- i < ■ - ^. 
 
 The banks are owing two classes of debts- the circulation, 
 which is the first charge on the assets, and secondly the deposits- 
 equal to a second mortgage and not specially secured by 
 reserves ; and because the bankers are not required to hold such 
 reserves, they sell all monies that come to hand to pay for 
 imports. In this way from 200 to HOO million dollars of money, 
 borrowed for various improvements since the Act of Confedera- 
 tion has been paid out again by the banks for tiie payment of 
 excicssive importations of foreign goods : as of course the 
 legitimate trade is settled by the exports of products. But that 
 is not all, for the whole connnercial foreign debt of 67;') million 
 dollars according to the Loudon Economist, if correct, has gone 
 on the same wasteful errand by virtue of the much lauded 
 banking system. How is it possible for a country to pay out 
 in this manner its cash reserves and prosper? and how is it 
 possible in these circumstances to value its property? 
 
 The paid up capitiil being |60,000,000 and the average circu- 
 lation only $82,000,000 shows a deficiency of $28,000,000 of 
 circulation. Because, it may fairly be objected, if the country 
 
 ■:l 
 
 '■■} 
 
 i 
 
12 
 
 would have had all the paid-up capital in use without any banks 
 at all, what is the ^'ood of such banks? That f 28,000,000 of 
 paid-up capital has declined in value, therefore an equal sum of 
 reserves is required to maintain the par value of the assets of 
 the monthly b:ink statements. 
 
 Then what becomes of that mystified column of $19,000,000 
 wrongfully termed reserves? Why should it appear in the 
 statements at all under the circumstance^s V And, it may be 
 asked, what can be the meaning of bankers periodically going 
 through the formalities of declaring handsome dividends upon 
 ass?ts which are so hypothetical ? 
 
 In plain language the missing link has got to be recovered 
 or worse consequences are sure to follow. 
 
 The Solution of the Difficilty. 
 
 The difficulty to be solved is this : The excess of importations 
 employs a certain amount of capital which merely aids foreign 
 manufacturers— a use to which our capital should not be 
 applied because it is not our business. That capital must be 
 diverted from its present use and turned into the aid of the 
 domestic industries where it is so very muc;h needed. But if 
 you force the banks to increase their reserv^es merely that would 
 of cours? limit the accommodation to weak importing firms and 
 check the excess of imports, but it would also curtail the circu- 
 lation proportionately. 
 
 The solution of the difficulty is only to be found in the 
 establishment of a capital bank of issue, chartered to do business 
 in first-class securities, and made auxiliary to existing banks. 
 
 Again, the capital which is not already exported, nor in UvSO 
 
 in the general business of the country, nmst be vested in the real 
 
 estate, and can only be brought into use by a bank dealing in 
 
 such property. The Loan iSocieties have been accustomed to sell 
 
 . their exchange on London to the banks for their notes to reloan. 
 
IS 
 
 on mortgage. That ha^ proved a waste of capital betjaiise the 
 exchange was only used to stimulate importations. 
 
 It is proposed, therefore, that the new bank shall take up 
 the business of the I^an Societies with this exception, that it 
 shall lend it own issue on mortage, and payable on demand. 
 But to provide against a too sudden demand the charter? of the 
 present banks should Ixj amended to hold, say half the new issue 
 as a reserve at the credit of deposits. When the issue of the new 
 bank amounts to oO million dollars the full amount of the 
 2S million deficient reserves would be recovered by the banks ; 
 but it would be recovei'ed gradually and during a period of years. 
 If a bank happened to suspend payments its claim against the 
 new bank would be promptly paid. The other half of the new 
 issue would be payable on demand at the counter. 
 
 The new issue would stimulate the domestic industries and • J 
 
 increas3 the exports, and thereby facilitate the process of 
 limiting importations to the value of the exports. 
 
 We contend that is the only way to save the industries 
 from the ruinous course they are compelled to pursue by a 3 
 
 banking law that fails to meet the wants of this age of stenm 4 
 
 and electricity— a law which is defrauding the country of its ^ i 
 
 wealth. The new bank would have all the privileges of banks of ■ • 
 
 issue and would guarantee its solvency by the securities it dealt in, 
 and would supply itself with gold in the same manner that the | 
 
 loan societies now supply the banks. It would extend to all ^ , # 
 
 freehold farmers and others the opportunity of opening ace >unts 
 upon undoubted security without any regard to personal reputa- 
 tion. Then sut^h parties could make their purchases for cash on 
 the most favorable terms, and as a consequence cash trade would 
 be established. 
 
 The trade problem solved and the capital retained in the 
 country the rate of interest would speedily fall to the level of 
 the London market, and, manufacturers having an equivalent 
 in cheap capital for the tariff, it would be gradually removed. 
 
14 
 
 and the trade assimilated to that of the empire. Canada would 
 then have the markets of the world to buy and s<m1 in. 
 
 When the rate of interest fell below that whicn Canadian 
 bonds pay capitalists would import them as r permanent 
 investment. 
 
 The stimulus giv^en to manufacturing and other infiustries 
 would attract immigration and fill up the (jountry. 
 
 The lands of Canada are already mortgaged well up to a 
 hundred millions, and at the present rate will soon be mortgaged 
 to their full value and all paid away for foreign goods. 
 
 As the difficulty effecting the trade of the country is one of 
 capital, we beg to submit that no credit issue Avhatever would 
 be of any avail to correct it. 
 
 To have a sufficiency of capital for the industries is simply 
 to legislate so that it shall not be exported for supplies that are 
 unnecessary. 
 
 It is customary in a free country to look to the opposition in 
 parliament to correct the errors of the government. Up to the 
 last general election Canada felt it possessed such an opposition, 
 but when the hour of action arrived, lo and behold they had 
 no proposition to make, and the people naturally refused to trust 
 them with power, because they prefer favoring benefactors. 
 Since that period the government was left to correct its own 
 errors. That statesman who shall give our intelligent and 
 industrious population a competent banking law will lay this 
 colony of the empire under lasting obligations. 
 
 And we may here take the liberty of saying that when the 
 Americans shall lay to heart the financial and industrial prin- 
 ciples of Sir R. Peel, they may safely take the advice given by 
 General Butler and hoist again the old Union Jack. 
 
t >